Don't Look Back
by omgwtfbbqlulz
Summary: Haku's thoughts as Chihiro runs back. One Shot. Pretty Short. Unexperienced, please review with criticism!


'Don't Look Back'

We quickly ran to the river, Chihiro slowly falling behind me. Her parents were there; I couldn't keep them waiting. Even if I didn't want her to go, I knew she didn't belong here. She was neither a spirit nor a lost soul-she was still normal enough to live out her life in the real world.

'Will we meet again sometime?'

In the short time, she had grow so much. I could see in her eyes the longing for this to all be true, the hope that, somehow, me saying so would make everything better. She was running away from us, but towards her future.

'Sure we will'

I'm sure somewhere in my eyes, my voice, my expression, something slipped, and showed her how I really felt.

'Promise?'

I hesitated. Though I hated lying, what else could I tell to the sweet, caring girl I had fallen in love with? In her eyes, I could see how much she wanted my words to be true. I wanted them to be true, as well. She needed reassurance. Reassurance I couldn't give to her. I hesitated, but only for a moment.

'I promise' Somewhere inside, I died a bit. She was so vulnerable, the way she was now, standing there. We both wanted to wish we weren't lying, pretending something was real when it clearly wasn't.

'Now go-and don't look back.'

Lying to myself, I adjusted a small smile to my face. If she looked back, I don't know what I would do. What would she do? Probably cry-that seemed like her. I'd pull her back and never let her leave. But that wouldn't be right.

I was a bit upset when she seemed to pull her hand away quickly... couldn't she have given me one more second? I held my hand out a bit longer, hoping to soak up whatever her presence may have left behind. Chihiro saved me, freed me from a loathing existence, showed me there was something worth waking up for. What had I done to affect her? She was so young; would she even remember me? Would she ever return?

She was running away from us, towards her future... but she would never remember us. To move on, I gave her the gift of forgetting what happened. She was able to forget the momentsspent here, the people who helped her bring out the traits inside her that would make her a great person. _I remember your name_ I had recalled.

What a fool I was. Forever engraved in my mind is the name of a girl who I would never see again. The name took priority even over my own. I stared into her back, trying to remember everything for both of us.

She would never return here. Now she ran towards her family, the only people who could truly teach her how to grow up. But I know for a fact that we will continue to take credit for showing her the way. She won't remember any of this once she passes through that terminal.

I couldn't stand it if she looked back because she might see the tears glistening in my eyes. I wanted her all to myself. I wanted to see her blossom into a young adult, learn more about the world, find out what it felt like to be in love. I wanted us to find out together.

It was meant to be this way. We were meant to part here. Our lives had been intertwined, but by letting go of my hand, she had set us both free. But what if I didn't want to be free? I very much enjoyed the few short days I was able to spend with Chihiro.

I know she is forgetting everything. Every step she takes brings her closer to blissful ignorance. If only I could be given that luxury.

_Will we meet again sometime?_

If she doesn't look back, then I will go on without her. But I'll never forget her. That's what I told myself. I'll never forget her, but in seconds she will forget me. We will never truly meet again because even if we do, she won't be the same person. Our experiences won't be remembered. Nothing that took place here will have any real effect on her at all.

She didn't look back.

**A/N: So this is really the first story I seriously wrote, and I did it pretty quickly. Please tell me what you think about it!**

**So looking back on it, its kind of like that saying _if you love someone, you let them go, and they will return to you. _ Its something like that. You know what I'm talking about. Its kind of like that, except he knows she is never returning. However, he is a strong character because he knows that even though he will never see her again, the right thing to do is to let her go.**

**I believe at the end of the movie he knew that they were most likely never going to cross paths again-see how he keeps his hand out for a moment after she pulls away? He lied to her, and took the burden of separating for both of them. Awww :'( Also, when Chihiro left him and returned to her parents, she truly forgot everything that had happened to her. Thats why the end is an almost mirror of the beginning (her clinging to her mom, what her mom says, etc) Okay, thats all for now, I hope you enjoyed this short little one shot!**


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